A Gang of Fools and Happy Days
by writerofthewanderingsuns
Summary: A oneshot of Inuyasha's birthday. Canon Universe.


A fic devoted to the birthday dogboy :D (I wrote this on April 1st 2017)

3710 words

* * *

"Hey Miroku." The monk turned to the green priestess. He was about to enjoy his morning meditation with Mushin when he heard his name.  
"What is it Kagome?" The monk didn't know what she could want from him.  
She cracked an evil grin at the unassuming technically-not-so-innocent monk. She clasped her hands behind her back and acted nervously, looking away from him and at the wood-planked floor to her left. "Its Sango..."  
The monk's attention hardened, "What about Sango? Is she in trouble?"  
Kagome internally smiled before formulating her grand master plan into words.  
"Well she told me to tell you . . . Umm ... It's kinda embarrassing ..."

* * *

Eventually Shippo caught on to her plotting. She made it a competition to see who could pull the biggest prank of the day. The fox child bubbled with mischievous joy and immediately dashed off the temple floor into the neighboring woods, pursuing after Inuyasha to play his tricks.  
She sat there with the meditating Mushin, waiting for the sign of her fox-child's success. Irritated shouts and yelps could be heard after a while as flocks of birds took to the skies at the sudden disturbances. With a pop, a big pink balloon floated away as a flash of red roared above the tree line, "SHIPPO, YOU LITTLE SHIT, JUST WAIT TILL I CATCH YOU!"  
Shippo just laughed evilly, "APRIL FOOLS INUYASHA!" and dodged the hanyou's swipes of claws.  
To her right, hiraikotsu burst from the trees hurdling after a fleeing monk. Her heart sister yelled, "YOU PERVERT!"  
Kagome started to sweat, her hands clammy. She didn't think it would get so dramatic.  
Mushin sipped his green tea, his meditation clearly over. He chuckled, "Quite a disturbance you've created, young lady."  
She hoped she hadn't upset the old priest. "Ah yes. In my country, today is the day we celebrate our foolishness and play pranks. It's called April Fool's Day."  
They watched as her friends chased after each other. Kagome petted Kirara who rested by her thigh. After a while, Mushin commented with a smile, "The lot of you are a gang of fools."

* * *

Inuyasha had spent his morning sulking and grumbling under his breath as they walked back to the village. Kagome looked at Shippo, who was curled up in the basket of her bike. He glanced at Inuyasha too, a worried look on his face. "Shippo, did you tease him too much?" She asked in a hushed tone.  
"I don't think so. I didn't do much worse than normal. He was like that before I even snuck up on him."  
Was last night a new moon and she'd missed it? He had been gone in the woods all of yesterday afternoon and last night. He didn't emerge until this morning when Shippo pulled his series of pranks. Little did she know that he had transformed into her and tried his best at 'seducing' Inuyasha before he could no longer hold his disguise.  
They returned to Kaede's hut before she grabbed Sango's hand and whispered in her ear. Inuyasha was nowhere to be found so she knew her words were safe. Sango smiled in return and Kagome nearly shivered at the evil behind them. Kagome didn't doubt for a second that she was going to get her revenge on Miroku. The men in their little family were the biggest fools of them all, so of course they'd be the most common targets.

* * *

After a while Miroku caught on and joined Shippo in his never ending teasing of the half-demon. As the day wore on, Inuyasha's reactions seemed to have less and less energy behind them and Kagome started to worry.  
She searched for him for hours before finally happening upon him in his forest. She realized that it never took her this long to find him before. She wondered if, in the past, he knew when she was searching for him and would conveniently plop himself in a tree nearby for her to find him.  
"Inuyasha?" She called up to him. She waited. He didn't respond, not even flick an ear in her direction like he usually did. She thought of a multitude of things to say that would catch him off-guard. Things like "I sense a jewel shard!" or "Naraku's here!" or the random one that just popped into her head, "Sesshomaru's nipples!"  
She muffled a snort. Everyone, even Kaede, had their turn at teasing Inuyasha, but she had yet to do so herself. She must've been a fool to make herself wait so long to have her chance at him. Her arms hugged her quivering stomach, barely containing herself as all her options played out in her head. After calming herself finally, she looked up to find that Inuyasha hadn't moved a muscle, his back still to her. Did he even realize she was there? When they normally swiveled and twitched, constantly analyzing millions of sounds, most of which humans probably couldn't hear, his satellite-like ears were bent down like a sad puppy's.  
What could he possibly be thinking about that the world around him was shut out so completely? He was never like this, not even during one of those times when he was thinking about Kikyou. He was never this . . . depressed. It had been nearly two years since the start of the shard quest, since she had freed him from the tree, and this was the second time that she saw a tear fall from his face.  
Her heart squeezed and all thoughts left her. "Inuyasha?!"  
His ears popped up, and she knew that he was taking a moment to dry his tears away. He kept his back turned to her though, "Keh," he mumbled, but there was no usual bite behind his quiet voice, "Whaddya want, wench?"  
"I want to know what's bothering you! You've been acting strange today."  
His voice grew stronger over time, "Keh! I'm fine woman!"  
She exhaled a long steady breath through her nose. This is the one time she didn't want to do this when he was ignoring her. "Sit."  
He fell from the tree, his face buried in the dirt. What surprised her the most that day, was that, even after the spell lost its glow, he didn't get up and bark at her. He slowly lifted himself off the ground and sat at the base of the same tree, his arms crossed in his sleeves, eyes closed, accepting.  
She kneeled in front of him, "Now you're really freaking me out. Just tell me what's wrong. I don't care if it's about kikyou," she put a hand to his cheek, to get him too look at her, "I can't stand to see you like this."  
His eyes widened and he drew a breath. Releasing it, the look in his eyes said he'd decided something. He removed her hand from his face with his own, but didn't let go of it as it rested on his knee.  
"I've had a lot on my mind today. Today is ... a memorable one."  
Memorable? Had her friends gone too far? She didn't think he could get so down from so much teasing like this. She instantly wanted to come clean.  
"Inuyasha," she sighed, "I'm afraid it's my fault. I'm sor-" she couldn't finish as she hiccuped. She never thought he could look so hurt, and all because of her and this stupid holiday.  
Within seconds, she was pulled into his lap. His arms wrapped around her firmly, his nose in her hair. He may be having a bad day down memory lane, but that was no reason to make Kagome cry.  
Not that she could see, but he looked at her incredulously, "Baka. How the heck is it your fault that 200 years or so ago today was the day I was born?"  
Her quivering form froze, "What?"  
He relaxed a little. At least she wasn't whimpering now. Hoping to calm her told her a story.  
Being stuck to the tree had him lose track of time, but his brother had never forgotten the night their father had died, the night of his birth. Last year, he came to personally remind him of it, whipping at him with his poison, and since then he's been able to keep track of that day.  
Sesshomaru would never let Inuyasha forget the day that his little half-breed of a brother, not even four feet tall, had sought him out for his help.

* * *

Inuyasha's mother had been sick for a year before her life had finally faded out. He'd spent that year never leaving the side of her bed. After she died, he had been kicked out of the house by the spears the human men carried. They had carried her 'demon-sullied' body far away from the castle grounds and dumped her near a lake unceremoniously. He buried her himself.

After a while, he remembered the Tenseiga that Myoga had mentioned once and dashed off to find his brother. It took him months to find his scent. He had been hunted by hanyou-hating demons, chased by human men, and had to learn how to hunt on his own. He had time to learn, as he could go without food for a week if needed. When he finally tracked down his brother, he was met with a hand to his throat, claws squeezing his thick skin threateningly. Frustrated at how long he'd been without his mother, he cared not for his own life and begged Sesshomaru for the tenseiga. He didn't even struggle. "I don't care if you kill me, just bring my mother back, please!"  
Sesshomaru was silent for a while. Then he said something unexpected. "Father died for you and that human. This Sesshomaru will kill you, eventually, but will not take your life when you wish to throw it away. He deserves that much at least."  
He didn't see his brother again for years after that. Myoga had eventually found him, and told him that the tenseiga wouldn't work twice.  
As he'd grown older, he replaced the wooden plank that he'd hastily written his mother's name on, so he wouldn't forget where he'd buried her, with a real headstone that he'd etched away her name himself. For the longest time, he believed that his very existence is what caused his parents pain and death.

* * *

Kagome had fresh tears down her face as he finished. She had turned around in his lap to stare at him. His fingers gently swept them away before they had a chance to roll off her cheeks.  
He desperately wanted to reassure her. "After that, I refused to feel any human emotions, and tried to find ways to become a full-fledged demon so I would never have to feel such things again. I was reminded about all that today. No need to worry about it. It happened years ago."  
"But, you were so depressed..." Kagome mumbled.  
The wind shifted. He growled much more like the normal Inuyasha (making her feel a little better), "How long have ya'll been hiding there?!"  
Over time, his friends had learned to spy on him downwind of his sharp nose to his annoyance. Miroku rose, holding his hands up in apology, "Forgive us, Inuyasha."  
Sango stood up from behind the bush, "Yeah, we all wanted to know why you were acting so strange today of all days."  
Kagome was pulling her emotions together in his lap, trying to think of what she could do for him.  
"Keh. I'm perfectly fine! I'm allowed to have these _human_ emotions once in a while, aren't I?!" He grumbled. Kagome smiled at that before she realized something. Inuyasha said he had locked up his emotions for years. She had never seen him cry until Mukotsu's poison had nearly killed her and the others.  
He got annoyed when teased, empathetic when she cried, protective when they were in danger, afraid when she was hurt (or about to sit him), happy when she smiled at him...  
She had gotten him to feel again.  
She stood abruptly. She took a few steps and Inuyasha shot up behind her, "Wha-? Hey, Kagome?! Where are you going?"  
She whirled then and he was taken aback by her mischievous smile, "I'm going home!" She chirped.  
Everyone was shocked at her statement until Sango asked, "Why, Kagome?"  
She smiled and put a finger to her lips, "It's a secret." She said as she eyed Inuyasha in her peripheral. His full attention was on her. His expression was confused but also curious and she smirked at that.  
She clasped her hands together and gave Sango and Miroku a begging look with a pout, "Do me a favor guys?"  
"What is it Kagome?" Inuyasha asked, but she ignored him.  
"Can you make sure Inuyasha stays here till I come back?"  
"Keh! Do you have one of those tests again?"  
She waved her hand at him, "Oh yeah, totally," letting him fall for his own assumption.  
"Just cause today's a bad day doesn't mean you get to go home! We still need to go find the jewel shards!"

* * *

She reached the well, determined with a plan. She had her legs over the edge, ready to jump when she heard Inuyasha yelling and she looked behind her. He was struggling behind Miroku and Sango, holding him back by the arms.  
"You're always following her!" Sango huffed, "Give her some peace and quiet to study!"  
"I don't _always_ follow her!" She heard him yell before she slipped through time with a smile.

* * *

It was late, but night had yet to darken the sky. She ran to her room to grab her wallet. As she thumped her way back down the stairs hurriedly, her mother asked, "Kagome? What's going on?"  
Between breaths, she answered, "No time to explain, mom. Gotta run to the store!"  
As her daughter ran out the door, her mother returned to the kitchen, thinking Inuyasha must've wounded himself again and Kagome had run out of supplies.  
Kagome had to think logically. A cake would be too much hassle to drag up through the well without getting shifted and smudged. Plus it would take too long to make. The day was running out as it is. She bought enough supplies to make him something at least, she was about to grab the chocolate flavored one, hesitated, then thought better of it, just in case, and grabbed the vanilla one.  
After she paid the grocer, she rushed down the street, only to skid to a stop after she noticed something. She backtracked a few stores and found it sitting in the window of a convenience store with a "40% off!" note underneath it.  
"Uh, miss? Are you sure you want to buy this many?" The clerk asked.  
"Of course!" She chirped, as if nothing was out of the ordinary.  
"Okay. Let me go in the back real quick and grab you a bigger bag."

* * *

She huffed, breathing so hard that she couldn't announce that she was home. Before she could even close the door behind her, she dropped the four-foot-tall bag on the floor. She was sweaty after the trek up the shrine steps but there was no time to take a bath so she ran to her room to douse herself in deodorant, a wonderful modern commodity. She came back downstairs, to find her brother gawking at the bag by the front door, his gaping, drooling mouth nearly touching the floor and his eyes bulged out. Kagome rolled her eyes, "They're not for you Souta."  
"I know but what did Inuyasha do to deserve all this?!"  
Kagome winked as she passed him, "He opened up to me . . . . . . and it's his birthday."  
She borrowed the kitchen from her mother and got started. The end result was a vanilla cupcake six inches in diameter. He did have a big appetite after all.

They may have agreed to put off any relationship until Naraku was gone, but she was not missing this opportunity!

* * *

Inuyasha had settled down in Kaede's hut, accepting that he wasn't going to get past his friends. Not while they were awake anyway. He could be patient. They needed to sleep eventually. Even if they took shifts, he could get past one of them, just not both. Just what was this secret that she wanted to keep from him?  
He smiled. Then again, he was glad she'd given him something else to think about, something to, eventually, act upon.  
Inuyasha shot up, "She's back!"  
But none of them moved. He paused, "If she's back then I can go get her can't I?"  
"Don't even try to fool us, Inuyasha." Miroku said, without even looking away from the fire.  
"She'll be gone for at least a day if she has a test." Sango added.  
He growled, "You idiots! She is here! You know I can pick up her scent from here! Besides, why would I try to fool you?!"  
Now they all looked at him. He sat on all fours under the pressure of their gazes, "What!?"  
"Kagome didn't tell you?"  
"Tell me what dammit?!"  
"Today's a holiday in her time." Shippo explained.  
"Okay. So what if it is?"  
"It's a holiday for playing tricks. April Fool's day." Sango said.  
"I still don't get it."  
"That's why we've been teasing you all day! Poor Kagome was worried when you just seemed to get sadder and sadder today." Miroku huffed, annoyed at the stupidity of his friend.  
"Keh! I wasn't sad, fools!"

Sango snorted at his choice of words.  
Shippo leered at him with a smirk, "Oh yeah? And real men don't cry either."  
Before the kit knew it, the hanyou had crossed the room and crouched in front of him, hitting him on the head. The kit fled the hut, wary of the murderous look in Inuyasha's calm gaze.

* * *

Kagome was on her way to the village, after taking trips to carefully carry the large cupcake up the well, and then climbing her way up again, teeth holding the heavy bag behind her back. She sighed at getting sweaty all over again, but she'd left her other deodorant in her bag at Kaede's. The Feudal era was so much more humid.

Shippo bounded towards her, "Kagome! You _are_ back!" He plopped into her one extended arm as he noticed the other held a small package. It smelled delicious, but he was a polite young child, unlike Inuyasha, and focused his attention on Kagome instead. "I thought you had a test?"

Kagome winked once again, "That was just a little white lie. I got things for Inuyasha instead."

He pointed towards the box, "Is that what that's for?" Then he looked behind her, "What about all that?"

"That's for him too….." She glanced at it wearily. She didn't want to chance ruining her moment by having him ogle the cups of ramen. "Hey Shippo? If you go hide this in the woods somewhere for me, I'll let you have some after I show it to Inuyasha."

The kit immediately plopped down and grabbed the opening of the bag. He bounded away with it hefted over his shoulders, while she stood there, admiring the demon strength of the child. _He was able to carry Kaede once after all . . ._

She was surprised no one came to greet her. She flipped the mat aside and Sango, Miroku, and Kaede said in unison, "Kagome! You're back!"

"I told you guys she was here. I wasn't April-Fools-Joking." Somehow the way he said made it seem like a new cuss word and she snickered at that fact.

His nose twitched, and he thought of that one time where he found Kagome's mom in the kitchen, telling him and his nose that it was Kagome's sixteenth birthday. He'd scoffed then at the human ritual of celebrating one's age each year. It made sense, since humans don't live that long.

He couldn't believe it. That wasn't for him was it? No. He refused to believe it until she walked over and knelt before him, offering the white box, "Happy Birthday Inuyasha!" she smiled.

He stammered, "You- You made it for me?"

She nodded happily as he took it. "I wasn't able to carry a big one through the well but . . ." she shook her head, telling herself it didn't matter. She stood up and faced their companions, "And I brought plates for everyone!"

Shippo popped in through the window, "Yay! Cake! Go ahead Inuyasha! Open it!"

He did. In red icing, it said:

 _May your day be happy, Inuyasha_

He looked up at her incredulously. She was passing a plate to Sango, who was in the middle of thanking her when she felt a certain hand where it shouldn't be. The monk made his innocent smile after he'd been slapped. Kaede smiled as she was handed a plate, laughing at whatever story Shippo was telling by her knee. Kagome put a plate on the floor before Kirara before turning back to him with the warmest of smiles.

He would look forward to each birthday from now on.

 **Bonus:**

They had nearly finished their slices of the giant cupcake, when the hut burst apart. Demons slithered around them. Inuyasha drew tetsusaiga and Kagome retrieved her bow. Kirara was already tearing apart demons with her fangs.

Naraku was here.

He bellowed from behind the barrier, "I finally have the complete jewel, Inuyasha."

Behind him, he noticed a dark aura rising. He froze, even more scared of the fiery woman from behind him than he was of Naraku (which the evil hanyou actually frowned at).

"Of all the times . . ." She mumbled beneath her bangs.

She drew back her bow faster than Koga could run and yelled, "YOU HAVE THE MOST TERRIBLE TIMING NARAKU!" and fired her arrow before anyone could blink.

It went through the barrier and killed Naraku along with the jewel.

No one spoke. All the demons had disintegrated with her purifying light.

Miroku gasped and fumbled with his beads, "Miroku-sama!" Sango hugged him. The wind tunnel was gone.

Inuyasha heard her bow hit the floor. Kagome looked at her hands, "I did it?"

She was suddenly wrapped up in a warm embrace. Then, to her surprise, she was lifted into the air as Inuyasha twirled her in a circle, laughing, "Best birthday ever!"

* * *

The End xD

(notice how in his excitement for her return, he didn't even notice the smell of desert until way later. xD Such a happy pupper.)


End file.
